This will be a dead heat between Dunlop Grand Prix/Slazenger Wimbledons and Wilson USOs, with Pro Penn ATPs bringing up the rear. Why? The Dun/Slaz is the best overall ball. Lasts the longest, plays great. The Wilson is a slightly better playing ball, is a bit softer, BUT, will only last for about one match. This thread has been done dozens of times.

I recently started playing with Penn ATPs and noticed how much more lively they are - specifically, how much more they seem to respond when hit with topspin. I don't even have to try that hard, and when the ball bounces on the other side of the court there is a very noticeable kick to the ball.

It seems that USTA Leagues here in Cali seem to mostly use the Penn Championship, which, no matter how much extra topspin I put on the ball, seems to have no effect when the ball bounces on the other side of the court.

My top 2 choices fall into the OTHER category. My top choices, in order:

~ Prince Tour
~ Slazenger Wimbledon
~ Dunlop Grand Prix

~ Wilson US Open XD
~ Wilson US Open Regular Duty
~ Penn ATP

Have not had the opportunity to use the A-Player, Marathon, or the Babolat FO ball. Of the Championship balls, I'd go with either the Prince or the Dunlop balls. However, the Penn Champs are my first choice on a cold night -- the others feel like rocks and take longer to warm up. Of the premium (pro) balls and the 2nd-tier balls (like the Championship balls), the Wilson Champs are at the bottom of my list.

Penn Championships should be reserved for nursing home walkers only. You even look at one of those things and it turns into a slow moving ball of fluff with no pop.

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Disagree, ive used all slazenger balls and i go agree that they are very good, but they bounce way to high - especially when you play moonballers. I find that the slaz tournemant balls last way longer than any other of thr balls.

So far ive used Penn championships just for 3 hrs (1can), and i love them, i have to see how they last. Penn great for flat hitting

^ Note that the quality/quality control of the Penn Champs is somewhat substandard compared to the premium/professional balls. I have noticed this for more than 5 years now. The XD version is one of the most popular balls in our part of the planet -- due to cost and the softer feel of these balls. However I have noticed that nearly every can, if not every can, of Penn Champs contains one substandard ball. I believe that this is intentional on the part of Penn.

Sometimes, the odd ball is cosmetically flawed (crooked or offset label, excess glue or rubber at the seams, etc). This is not too objectionable at all. OTOH the odd ball, instead, very often has a bounce that is noticeably lower than the other two balls in the can. Check this out for yourself with your next new can.

Also, Penn Champs noticeably lose pressure/bounce height by the 2nd set of a match. By the 3rd set. the bounce is quite a bit lower. I have not seen this with Dunlop or Prince Champs or any of the premium/pro balls.

Wilson USO XD balls do tend to fluff up quite a bit in the 2nd or 3rd set of a match -- it depends on the type of shots that the ball experiences. Players who hit a lot of low, flat or underpin balls that skid fluff the USO XD ball rather quickly.

What is your objection to the Grand Prix ball? The only ball that is brighter than this ball is the Slaz Wimbledon ball. It also has an excellent, consistent bounce and is longer lasting than most other pressurized balls. I have not had the chance to use the PP Marathon ball for comparison. Of all the balls that I have used, only the Prince Tour ball appears to last longer. Some have reported that this Prince ball lasts longer than the Marathon ball (which is 1 of the 2 balls in this poll that I have not used myself).

^ Note that the quality/quality control of the Penn Champs is somewhat substandard compared to the premium/professional balls. I have noticed this for more than 5 years now. The XD version is one of the most popular balls in our part of the planet -- due to cost and the softer feel of these balls. However I have noticed that nearly every can, if not every can, of Penn Champs contains one substandard ball. I believe that this is intentional on the part of Penn.

Sometimes, the odd ball is cosmetically flawed (crooked or offset label, excess glue or rubber at the seams, etc). This is not too objectionable at all. OTOH the odd ball, instead, very often has a bounce that is noticeably lower than the other two balls in the can. Check this out for yourself with your next new can.

Also, Penn Champs noticeably lose pressure/bounce height by the 2nd set of a match. By the 3rd set. the bounce is quite a bit lower. I have not seen this with Dunlop or Prince Champs or any of the premium/pro balls.

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Everyone been telling me about the 1 ball doesnt bounce, didnt happen to me, but ive only played 3 hrs with a can- need to play longer with them and only played indoors with them. Also see how all 3 tubes see out to discuss quality control.

I Hate it when cheap clubs use Dunlop balls just so that they can save some money. they tend to last longer but control really sucks

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Um, they don't use Dunlops to save money, they use Dunlop balls so that they don't waste money on a ball that's worthless after a week of lessons. Also, all respect intended, I don't think that the ball has anything to do with the amount of control you have when hitting the ball.

Disagree, ive used all slazenger balls and i go agree that they are very good, but they bounce way to high - especially when you play moonballers. I find that the slaz tournemant balls last way longer than any other of thr balls.

So far ive used Penn championships just for 3 hrs (1can), and i love them, i have to see how they last. Penn great for flat hitting

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The Dunlops and Slaz are slightly harder and faster balls. The Pro Penn and ATP Penns are fine. It's the Penn Champs which are simply worthless. Seriously, they are soft after warmup, let alone a set.

^ Note that the quality/quality control of the Penn Champs is somewhat substandard compared to the premium/professional balls. I have noticed this for more than 5 years now. The XD version is one of the most popular balls in our part of the planet -- due to cost and the softer feel of these balls. However I have noticed that nearly every can, if not every can, of Penn Champs contains one substandard ball. I believe that this is intentional on the part of Penn.

Sometimes, the odd ball is cosmetically flawed (crooked or offset label, excess glue or rubber at the seams, etc). This is not too objectionable at all. OTOH the odd ball, instead, very often has a bounce that is noticeably lower than the other two balls in the can. Check this out for yourself with your next new can.

Also, Penn Champs noticeably lose pressure/bounce height by the 2nd set of a match. By the 3rd set. the bounce is quite a bit lower. I have not seen this with Dunlop or Prince Champs or any of the premium/pro balls.

Wilson USO XD balls due tend to fluff up quite a bit in the 2nd or 3rd set of a match -- it depends on the type of shots that the ball experiences. Players who hit a lot of low, flat or underpin balls that skid fluff the USO XD ball rather quickly.

What is your objection to the Grand Prix ball? The only ball that is brighter than this ball is the Slaz Wimbledon ball. It also had an excellent, consistent bounce and is longer lasting than most other pressurized balls. I have not had the chance to use the PP Marathon ball for comparison. Of the balls that I have used, only the Prince Tour ball appears to last longer. Some have reported that this Prince ball lasts longer than the Marathon ball.

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I'm with you and LeeD. I've yet to find a better ball than GPs or Wimbledons. Some people prefer USOs because they're slower and softer, but the Dunlops and Wimbys are the most consistent throughout their life.

Everyone been telling me about the 1 ball doesnt bounce, didnt happen to me, but ive only played 3 hrs with a can- need to play longer with them and only played indoors with them. Also see how all 3 tubes see out to discuss quality control.

Anyone played with Head atp? brief summary

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Perhaps you got a can of balls that had a cosmetic flaw on one of the balls (instead of a substandard bounce). I see that happen every once in a while -- perhaps 5-10% of the time.

Usually, with the substandard ball, the bounce height is about 80-90% or so of the other two balls. Perhaps you got one where the lower bouncing ball was 90+% of the other 2 balls so you may not have noticed it. I have seen hundreds of cans of Penn Champs where one of the balls had a substandard bounce.

One night while playing doubles, we lost one of the new USO xd balls after 40 minutes of play. One of the guys decided to open a new can of Penn Champ balls. At that point, the 2 older Wilson balls had the same bounce height as 2 of the newer Penn balls. So we decided to continue play with the 2 USO balls and the 2 Penn balls (that had the same bounce height). After a couple more hours of play, it was apparent that the bounce height of the 2 Penn balls was noticeably lower than the 2 older Wilson USO balls.

The Head ATP ball should be identical to the Penn ATP ball -- they re the same ball with a different label. The Penn name is used for balls used in the US. The Head name is used for most other countries.

I have not been satisfied with Pro Penn Marathon XD at all, they last less than 2 hours, the former Pro Penn lasted more (bounced well for longer), 3-4 hours i'd say. I have had many cans that didn't pass 1:30 mins, they were completely flat. Wilson US Open XD doesn't last that much neither, lower bounce fluffs faster as well. I wish Yonex sold balls, I bet it would be good.

I can see that what they wanted was us to buy more, therefore more profit.

Perhaps you got a can of balls that had a cosmetic flaw on one of the balls (instead of a substandard bounce). I see that happen every once in a while -- perhaps 5-10% of the time.

Usually, with the substandard ball, the bounce height is about 80-90% or so of the other two balls. Perhaps you got one where the lower bouncing ball was 90+% of the other 2 balls so you may not have noticed it. I have seen hundreds of cans of Penn Champs where one of the balls had a substandard bounce.

One night while playing doubles, we lost one of the new USO xd balls after 40 minutes of play. One of the guys decided to open a new can of Penn Champ balls. At that point, the 2 older Wilson balls had the same bounce height as 2 of the newer Penn balls. So we decided to continue play with the 2 USO balls and the 2 Penn balls (that had the same bounce height). After a couple more hours of play, it was apparent that the bounce height of the 2 Penn balls was noticeably lower than the 2 older Wilson USO balls.

The Head ATP ball should be identical to the Penn ATP ball -- they re the same ball with a different label. The Penn name is used for balls used in the US. The Head name is used for most other countries.

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The Penn champs even look cheap. The glue is always slathered on like it was toothpaste. I seriously don't know how anyone can use those for an actual match when there are other champ balls that are so much better.

I bought a dozen cans of them on sale recently and have used one set so far. They seemed pretty quick, which I don't mind and perhaps wore out quicker than average - but by no means the quickest. They seemed pretty good overall to me - comparable in some ways to the Wilson US Open balls.

I am currently playing with Dunlop Grand Prix balls - after having read some reviews I expected them to last longer.

They seem to lose their fuzz pretty fast and they also don't bounce as much as I would like them to either. "Dunlop Fort" felt better and were also more durable. Just a better ball overall, but some people are not fond of how they feel. They are bouncier and feel a bit heavier and harder - similar to Slazenger, but the latter ones are probably more playable and better quality IMO.

If I definitely had to consider Dunlop Grand Prix, I would probably rather buy Wilson US Open balls instead. Playable right out of the box and as-much-as-you-pay-for durability. Some QC issues might occur, but you know what to expect.

The Penn champs even look cheap. The glue is always slathered on like it was toothpaste. I seriously don't know how anyone can use those for an actual match when there are other champ balls that are so much better.

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Don't get me wrong. Even tho' I presented the shortcomings of the Penn Champs in posts #12 and #19, I still consider them a decent ball -- but definitely not as good as the premium balls that I listed. I do like the Penn Champs on a cold night because, unlike most other balls, they do not feel like rocks and tend to bounce a bit better cold than other balls.

I also consider the Penn Champs to be better balls than the Wilson Champs. However, as far as other Championship balls go, I would pick the Prince or Dunlop over Penn.

The Penn champs even look cheap. The glue is always slathered on like it was toothpaste. I seriously don't know how anyone can use those for an actual match when there are other champ balls that are so much better.

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Our cheap head pro uses those for our annual club tournament. You have to throw them away after 2 sets and get another can. Sigh...

Don't get me wrong. Even tho' I presented the shortcomings of the Penn Champs in posts #12 and #19, I still consider them a decent ball -- but definitely not as good as the premium balls that I listed. I do like the Penn Champs on a cold night because, unlike most other balls, they do not feel like rocks and tend to bounce a bit better cold than other balls.

I also consider the Penn Champs to be better balls than the Wilson Champs. However, as far as other Championship balls go, I would pick the Prince or Dunlop over Penn.

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I prefer the Wilson Champs over the Penn Champs but to each his own. I've never noticed the Penn Champs to bounce much in any weather.

I personally love the Pro Penn Marathon Extra Duty balls. My high school uses them, and they generally retain their bounce for several months. Almost every other ball we've used usually dies within the month we get them.
For me, they also aren't too heavy or light, so hitting with them feels fine

I also liked using the can of Slazenger balls I bought. Only problem I had with them is the logo of the ball wears off, which kind of bothers me at times

I personally love the Pro Penn Marathon Extra Duty balls. My high school uses them, and they generally retain their bounce for several months. Almost every other ball we've used usually dies within the month we get them.
For me, they also aren't too heavy or light, so hitting with them feels fine

I also liked using the can of Slazenger balls I bought. Only problem I had with them is the logo of the ball wears off, which kind of bothers me at times

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My current ball of choice is Pro Penn Marathon Regular Duty on the clay. They are very bright which is nice at night and not too heavy or furry.

I'm willing to try this Slazenger Wimbledon, Dunlop Grand Prix and PENN ATP (if it's not the same as PP Marathon) , but it's hard to find he other 2 in my area, the club doesn't sell nor the stores, so hopefully if I order something online (I hardly do that) I'd like to add 2 cans of each, but no online retailer sells 1 or 2 cans of these balls, I'm not ordering a whole case just to try them.

^ Never seen any Volkl balls in my neck of the woods. Which Dunlops are you referring to? You must qualify your statement. There are also a number of other models than the 3 listed in the poll. You cannot dismiss the highly-regarded Grand Prix balls just cuz you don't like the A-Player, Championship or one of the other Dunlop models.

^ Never seen any Volkl balls in my neck of the woods. Which Dunlops are you referring to? You must qualify your statement. There are also a number of other models than the 3 listed in the poll. You cannot dismiss the highly-regarded Grand Prix balls just cuz you don't like the A-Player, Championship or one of the other Dunlop models.

Probably no one on here as ever tried them, but I love the Gamma Pro Tours. The Dunlop Grand Prix are a really really close second for me, but I like the Gammas just a little bit better. Their felt lasts forever and they hold their bounce really well, but they don't feel heavy coming off the racquet to me.

Seems that you may be in the minority in the TW world. The Dunlop GP generally favors well in polls and various threads in this forum. Even their Championship ball, so far, is doing a bit better than Penn or Wilson Champs in this poll.

How about specifics? Not enough to just say that you don't like Dunlops? Why don't you like the GP and other Dunlop balls? What type of courts do you usually play on? Play primarily at night or during the day? Low or high altitude? Hot or cold weather? Wind/calm? Etc.

What are your major criteria for judging the utility of a tennis ball? Price, durability, bounce, etc. Quite often ball preferences vary quite a bit from one person to the next based on the type of considerations that I've mentioned in this post.

Seems that you may be in the minority in the TW world. The Dunlop GP generally favors well in polls and various threads in this forum. Even their Championship ball, so far, is doing a bit better than Penn or Wilson Champs in this poll.

How about specifics? Not enough to just say that you don't like Dunlops? Why don't you like the GP and other Dunlop balls? What type of courts do you usually play on? Play primarily at night or during the day? Low or high altitude? Hot or cold weather? Wind/calm? Etc.

What are your major criteria for judging the utility of a tennis ball? Price, durability, bounce, etc. Quite often ball preferences vary quite a bit from one person to the next based on the type of considerations that I've mentioned in this post.

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yea. well in the TW world everyone also debates on lead placement and how much overgrip weight will affect the swingweight, and how fuzz on the stringbed causes them to lose topspin, so yea....

but the reason i dont like them is the weight. too hard and heavy. i have played in snow and over100degree heat, on decoturf2 to har tru clay. i have paid for about 5 cans of balls in the last 5yrs so price isnt a big concern, playability is. hence why i picked volkl. does this make sense to you now

Probably no one on here as ever tried them, but I love the Gamma Pro Tours. The Dunlop Grand Prix are a really really close second for me, but I like the Gammas just a little bit better. Their felt lasts forever and they hold their bounce really well, but they don't feel heavy coming off the racquet to me.

.... the reason i dont like them is the weight. too hard and heavy. i have played in snow and over100degree heat, on decoturf2 to har tru clay. i have paid for about 5 cans of balls in the last 5yrs so price isnt a big concern, playability is. hence why i picked volkl. does this make sense to you now

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Now we are getting some where. Yes, your feedback is now more informative. You are correct that Dunlop balls, in general, feel harder or stiffer than balls from Penn, Wilson and some others. This is probably one of the main factors with regards to longevity. Because, they last so much longer than other brands, they usually end up being cheaper in the long run. Of the pressurized balls, I believe that Prince Tour balls are only ones that last significantly longer that Dunlop GP balls.

I don't recall the Prince Tour balls feeling as stiff as the Dunlop GP balls.

Despite their stiffness, Dunlop balls are still quite a bit easier on the arm (less stiff) than hard pressureless balls. I currently have a seriously compromised shoulder and have had mild-to-moderate cases of TE in the past. Despite these issues, the Dunlop balls have never bothered my arm except on very cold nights.

This is probably because I use a soft string at a fairly low tension and the frames that I use provide a pretty good measure of dampening & isolation (from the shock and vibrations due to the ball, strings and frame). If you are using tight or harsh strings with a harsh feeling frame(stiff or lacking in shock reduction) or hit a lot of balls off-center, it may explain why Dunlop balls bother you so much.

As for their weight, I do not believe that the GP or other Dunlop balls are significantly heavier than other brands. They may give the illusion that they are heavier but they must fall in that fairly narrow weight range that I've stated (earlier in this thread, I think).

yea. well in the TW world everyone also debates on lead placement and how much overgrip weight will affect the swingweight, and how fuzz on the stringbed causes them to lose topspin, so yea....

but the reason i dont like them is the weight. too hard and heavy. i have played in snow and over100degree heat, on decoturf2 to har tru clay. i have paid for about 5 cans of balls in the last 5yrs so price isnt a big concern, playability is. hence why i picked volkl. does this make sense to you now

Poly strings can be a huge factor, even at low tensions. A racket that is flexible (not stiff) is no guarantee that they will not transmit a lot of shock (and vibration) to the arm.

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for me they are heavier too. you are connecting the wrong things. i dont like the balls because they are hard and heavy, not because they transmit shock to my arm. it has nothing to do with that. i just dont like the feel of the bounce